Just as the movement to pay teachers more money was gaining political steam, the economic fallout from the coronavirus is jeopardizing most of this year鈥檚 statewide initiatives to increase salaries, according to an Education Week analysis.
State lawmakers predict that the spread of the coronavirus and the extraordinary efforts to bring it to heel will send sales and income tax revenue into a tailspin next fiscal year. And they鈥檙e doing all they can now to brace for the coming storm.
In recent weeks, lawmakers in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, many citing a potential recession, have significantly reduced the pay bumps that teachers were expecting to get. In Kentucky, a much-anticipated $2,000 raise might get scrapped altogether. And in at least five states, proposals for teacher salary increases are in limbo as legislatures have either suspended their sessions or are retooling state budgets to account for the economic crisis.
鈥淚n the midst of a pandemic, you try not to put too much focus on that, but educators are very concerned about this decision,鈥� said Tikeila Rucker, the president of the United Education Association, which represents teachers in Memphis, Tenn., of the governor cutting the proposed bump in the state鈥檚 contribution to teacher salaries from 4 percent to 2 percent. 鈥淚t feels like a disservice to the people. 鈥� We鈥檙e already underappreciated, overworked, underpaid, and undervalued, and when there鈥檚 a need to make a cut, it feels like we鈥檙e dispensable.鈥�
Over the past two years, teachers across the country have called attention to their stagnant paychecks, staging multi- or single-day walkouts and protests in at least 10 states. Rallies for higher wages and more school funding were planned at state capitols across the country for this spring, until the coronavirus pandemic squashed gatherings.
To maintain social distancing, Tennessee teachers canceled their March 16 protest in Nashville, while South Carolina teachers canceled their second-annual statehouse rally, which was scheduled for March 24 and expected to shut down some schools. In Kentucky, teachers in Frankfort in their cars, honking in protest of lawmakers鈥� proposed changes to their pensions.
Teachers Asked to Do More
The freeze on pay proposals comes just as teachers must radically change how they work鈥�, soothe students鈥� fears about the pandemic from afar, and bring a sense of normalcy to the disrupted school year.
Parents, now tasked with supervising their children鈥檚 learning, have exclaimed in memes, , and notes to district staff that it鈥檚 past time for teachers to get a pay raise. 鈥淭eachers deserve to make a billion dollars a year. Or a week,鈥� on her first day of homeschooling her children.
鈥淗aving parents at home who struggle to complete the work that their children are supposed to do will fuel a little more respect for the everyday lives of teachers,鈥� said Thomas Easterling, an English teacher at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. He鈥檚 hoping that the state legislature, which has suspended its session, doesn鈥檛 forget about the $1,000 teacher pay raise proposal that is still pending.
But in state capitols, lawmakers worry they鈥檒l see a significant dip in revenue next year when they reconvene to craft the 2021 fiscal year budget. Many of their fiscal analysts have advised them to spend conservatively this year in order to avoid more drastic budget cuts next year.
District school finance analysts, meanwhile, are encouraging district superintendents to save any extra dollars they have to spend rather than bump their teachers鈥� pay during negotiations this year. The costs of salary increases this year will compound during a recession as more and more teachers qualify for step-ladder raises and fewer employees leave their jobs, said Marguerite Roza, a Georgetown University school finance professor.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 take much to destabilize district finances during a recession,鈥� Roza said during a webinar for district administrators and school funding advocates earlier this week.
Of the 13 governors who proposed teacher pay raises in their State of the State speeches, only the governors in Arizona, Idaho, and New Mexico have so far been successful in getting their entire proposals across the finish line. Even so, New Mexico lawmakers are expected to head back into a special session to adjust the budget, which includes a 4 percent teacher pay raise, to reflect the new economic reality.
In Arizona, which saw a statewide strike over teacher pay in 2018, the legislature included in a streamlined budget earlier this month a 10 percent bump in pay this year. But Anabel Aportela, a K-12 fiscal analyst for the state鈥檚 school board association and school budget officers鈥� association, is concerned about future cuts in the state, which is heavily reliant on sales tax revenue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a fluid situation,鈥� Aportela said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really concerned about what this is going to do to the economy.鈥�
Many teacher-pay initiatives now hang in limbo as state legislatures have promised to reevaluate next year鈥檚 budget after reviewing sales and income tax receipts this month and next to see the impact of so many people being laid off their jobs and locked up in their homes for weeks at a time.
In Georgia, the House of Representatives, citing the threat of a looming recession, cut in half a proposal to provide teachers with a $2,000 pay raise earlier this month before going into a temporary recess. While it鈥檚 yet to be determined what the state Senate decides, Joe Fleming, a lobbyist for the Georgia Association of Educators, a group that represents teachers, said it has put his members on edge.
鈥淭here are two ways to look at it,鈥� Fleming said. 鈥淵es, state revenue could be down substantially this time next year but, at the same time, I think our teachers are doing amazing work. 鈥� You can make an equally strong argument that it鈥檚 more deserved now than ever before.鈥�
鈥楢 Tough Spot鈥�
In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, had made raising teacher pay a hallmark of his campaign last year and has credited teachers with his election. He had proposed a $2,000 pay raise for teachers鈥攖heir first in years.
In early March, the state House had passed a budget that gave teachers a 1 percent pay raise each year of the biennium. That was slightly less than Beshear鈥檚 proposal, but it also spread the pay raise to school support staff, too.
But the state Senate鈥檚 proposed budget cuts teacher pay raises entirely, though it includes a 1 percent raise for support staff. The legislature will reconvene on March 26 and April 1 to hammer out the details and finalize the budget. If Beshear vetoes all or parts of the budget, legislators have until April 15 to consider any veto overrides.
But Kentucky lawmakers are bracing for a financial crisis. , state Sen. Tom Buford said that instead of a projected surplus through the end of the fiscal year, 鈥渨e could be down $1 billion in revenues鈥攁nd I think that鈥檚 a conservative estimate. We鈥檙e really in a tough spot.鈥�
Even so, teachers are urging state legislators not to forget about them.
鈥淵es, we are in an unprecedented crisis鈥攏o one has ever imagined living through this kind of pandemic that shuts down states and nations,鈥� said Tennessee Education Association President Beth Brown.
Still, she added, 鈥渨e have to acknowledge Tennessee does have a very large cash surplus. So, while we鈥檙e disappointed that this proposal for teacher [raises] has been reduced, it鈥檚 a step back, but it鈥檚 not the end of our fight. 鈥�. As we recover, let鈥檚 not forget the problems that were already there before COVID-19 hit us.鈥�
